RL Fic Exchange: Silver Springs
by Pink Blackberry Girl
Summary: The Buddy System never fails, no matter what age you are. Set post season 7. Written for the First Annual R/L Fic Exchange.
1. Chapter 1

This is written for Nicole (evenangelsfall22) for the 1st annual Rory/Logan Fic Exchange.

First off, I would like to apologize to Nicole. I had fully intended to work on this nonstop and make it amazing and have it fully completed on time, but some things came up, and that didn't happen. I only have the first part ready now, but the rest of it should be posted soon, it just won't be within the deadline. Again, sorry!

And a big thanks to Fluf for putting put with me and continuing to be an amazing beta!

Disclaimer: Nope, Gilmore Girls is still not mine, what a shame.

* * *

Leaning up against the lonely wall in the back of the room, I scanned the flower covered parlor, taking in the mournful faces of the attendees. I had never liked funerals, especially ones for people that I hardly knew.

Sighing, I glanced over at the plaque on display, the name Elias Huntzburgerwritten in fancy, curly letters. Next to it was another grand bouquet of roses, followed by an enlarged portrait of the elderly man.

To be honest, I had only agreed to come to this one because my grandparents asked me too, I had never really liked the man. Telling me that I was not good enough for my boyfriend was not exactly something that made me like a person.

Taking one last look around the room, I finally spotted him. Sitting not five feet away from me was the one I was trying so desperately to avoid, how I managed to walk right past him and not see him before was beyond me. But there he was, practically with in arms reach. The thought practically scared me to death, it wasn't like we had kept in touch after we had split, in fact I had done the best I could to avoid him at all costs.

My gaze fell steady on him, and it didn't take long to notice how upset he was, and he had obviously been drinking. I guess that was expected, it was his grandfather that died, after all. I couldn't imagine how upset I would be if one of my grandparents passed away.

I knew what I had to do. Taking a breath, I stepped forward from my post, pulled out a chair and took a seat next to him, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear as we sat in silence for a moment until he finally acknowledged my presence.

"What are you doing here Rory?" He finally asked, his breath thickly coated with alcohol, his head still hanging low as he continued to look down at the dusty, wooden floor.

"Nice to see you, too, Logan," I countered, folding my arms across my chest as I casually leaned back in the cold, metal seat, "How much have you had to drink?"

"None of your business," He replied angrily, gritting his teeth.

"I'm sorry for you loss," I told him sympathetically, changing my tone and hoping to change the nature of this conversation.

"Like I haven't heard that one before," Logan rolled his eyes, sitting up a little straighter as he too sat back, a slight smirk on his face as he watched the people slowly start to trickle out of the room. The service was over, and most had already paid their respects to the rest of Logan's family and were now long gone.

"Seriously, Logan," I mocked his tone.

"I am serious," Logan told me, his lips curling up into another smirk.

"How did you get here?" I asked, turning my head slightly to get a better look at him. He hadn't changed much in the last few years. He was definitely more handsome, and his hair was cut shorter than it used to be, but over all, he was the still the same Logan Huntzberger, the same alcoholic, sarcastic Logan Huntzberger.

"I drove," He spat back, glancing up at me. I could tell he was checking me out as well, equally curious as to how much I had changed since we had split. To be honest, I wasn't all that different either.

"Here, let me drive you home," I offered. Standing up, I held out my hand to help him up.

"Fine, thanks," He declined. I continued to hold out my hand in defiance, my eyes pleading with him to just let me do this one small thing for him. I kept telling myself it was the nice and helpful thing to do, and it meant nothing. Just a girl helping out an old friend in need.

"Then how are you going to get home? I doubt you want to sit in a car with your parents, and I bet she'll want to get home as soon as possible," I said as I motioned over to a very pregnant, andverytired looking Honor leaning against her husband with her hands resting on her belly. Her eyes were puffy, and her face was stained with tears.

"I'll take a taxi," Logan informed me, still openly declining my offer. I was starting to regret my decision to help in the first place.

"Just let me give you a ride," I continued to protest, a sort of half smile growing on my face, "It's no big deal, really."

"If you insist," He finally agreed, his face matching mine as he reached out for my hand and pulled himself up. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all.

...

"Listen, Logan, I'm really sorry about your grandfather," I told him again as we continued to drive down the road. Logan was slumped over in the seat next to me, giving me very vague instructions on how to get to his house. He never was the best when it came to directions.

"He was getting old, and he wasn't exactly the healthiest man alive," Logan explained half heartedly, "We all knew it was going to happen sometime."

"I know, but it's still hard," I added, gripping tighter onto the steering wheel as I turned onto the next street.

"Rory, I don't need your sympathy," He insisted, his tone deepening slightly

"No, seriously Logan, I remember what it was like when my grandpa was in the hospital. You saw what a mess I was, I can only imagine what it would be like to.."

"Really, Rory, it's okay, we never got a long that well anyway," He assured me, his tone softening once again as he waved it aside before quickly changed the subject by giving me further directions. We continued to drive in utter silence for a while, a sense of awkwardness filling the still air as I tried to think of something to say other than "which way now?". I tried a few general icebreakers, but it didn't qutie do the trick, and we went back to how it was before.

"Did you say left or right?"

"What?" Logan snapped up, coming out of the trance he had fallen into.

"52nd street, do I turn left or right?" I said again, rolling my eyes.

"Left," He directed as I approached the street and started to turn, "No! I meant right!"

"Make up your mind, Huntzburger!"

...

"This is it," He pointed out as I pulled up to the small mansion. Leave it to Logan to be 25 with a house built for the queen.

"Let me walk you to the door," I offered as I turned off the engine.

"What?" He questioned, raising his eyebrows as he looked over at me questioningly.

"I don't know if I trust you to make it all the way to the door without falling over," I joked, cracking a smile, "It looks like it's about a mile hike just to get to the stairs."

"I'm pretty sure it's two miles," He corrected me with a wink.

"Even worse than I though," I shook my head, "You really shouldn't take such a dangerous trip by yourself. Haven't you ever heard of the buddy system?"

"The buddy system, huh?" Logan asked, "Are we really resorting to that? Even at our age? I thought that was something you got over when you were twelve."

"Never, the buddy system never fails, no matter what age you are," I assured him with a shrug, "Now seriously, do you want me to help you to the door?"

"You know what, why not," He reluctantly agreed, his speech slurring ever so slightly as he hopped out of the car, standing by my side as we started our long journey to the front door. Something about the way he was acting worried me, and I wasn't sure if it was all the drinks he managed to consume, his state of mind because of the loss of his grandfather, the way he is unable to handle things like this in general, or all of the above. But either way I wanted to be sure he made it inside okay, it was going to be a long night, and maybe he just needed a friend for a while to help him cope.

"You going to be okay?" I asked him as we approached the large stone steps that wove up to the enormous front door.

"I'll be fine," Logan assured me, attempting a smile as he lifted his foot, taking each step slowly, as if he was debating whether he actually wanted to go inside or not, "Thanks for the ride."

"No problem," I assured him, reaching out and touching his arm, attempting to offer at least some comfort. It wasn't much, but it was all I knew I could do without falling apart myself. Every second I looked at him I was reminded of our past relationship. We already had one unstable person to deal with, we didn't need another one.

"Would like to come inside?", Logan suddenly asked as he stood in the doorway, his body half hidden behind the darkness inside the large, lonely house. He was pleading with me, I could see it in his eyes. He needed someone to talk to, I could tell, and I realized I wasn't going to turn him down for that because of our past. He didn't deserve that, not now, anyway. " I can make coffee."

"Sure," I agreed, taking a step forward as he pushed the door open a little wider to let me inside. With a wink I added, "You always did know my weakness."

* * *

The second part will be up as soon as possible, promise!


	2. Chapter 2

First off...I'm really sorry, again, that this took so long...I wrote like half of it, and then I had finals, and competitions, and tournaments, and then my beta was really busy so she couldn't read it for a few weeks. Anyway, here it is, better late than never, right? Like always, a big thanks to Fluf, my beta of amazingness!

Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls...

* * *

"No way!" I practically screamed, shaking my head, my long hair brushing against my shoulders.

"I'm totally serious! She called him out in front of everyone, it was great," Logan exclaimed. Laughing at the pure thought of Shira actually saying that in public, I almost choked on the coffee in my hands. It was so unlike her, she was usually so civil and proper.

"I still can't believe it," I laughed, taking one more sip before setting the mug back down on the table and leaning back on the couch. I had been here for close to an hour now, and Logan and I had finally fallen into a steady conversation without any awkward silences.

"Believe it," He assured me, "It was quite the sight to see."

"I'll bet," I smiled, still trying to picture it.

"Do you want more coffee?" He asked, pointing to the nearly empty cup in my hands.

"Sure," I agreed, handing it to him as he stood up and walked back into the kitchen. I sighed, relaxing a little as I fell deeper into the plush sofa cushions. This wasn't nearly as awkward as I thought it would be, I would almost go as far as to say that I was having a good time.

Noticing that he was taking a long time, pushed myself off the couch and followed him into the other room, where he was standing at the counter pouring the hot, black liquid into the two mugs. The kitchen was huge, at least five times the size of the one in my fairly decent sized apartment, but it looked as if it had hardly been used. Other than a few empty bottles of some form of expensive alcohol on the counter and the obviously well used coffee maker, the space was pretty much empty. A kind of eerie feeling swept over me as I realized how unhomely this room, and the rest of his house from what I'd seen, seemed to be.

"You checking up on me?" Logan shook his head, turning around around and handing me back the freshly filled mug.

"Just making sure you didn't die or anything," I joked, my hands absorbing the warmth from the coffee, the sweet aroma filling the air, "I really didn't feel like burying another body tonight. Too much work."

"I'm glad to see you have so much faith in me," Logan smirked, looking around the open room, he added, "I never got a chance to ask you, what do you think?"

"The house? I like it, it's..nice," I glanced around the room again, the still emptiness creeping over me yet again. Smiling, I turned around, and shuffled out. Logan followed, the two of us sauntering back into the living room, taking our seats on opposite ends of the sofa. Close enough that we could still easily feel each others presence, but far enough away that it didn't cause any more awkward tension.

"So, how are Colin and Finn?" I asked him, unconsciously tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, "I haven't talked to them in what seems like forever. Still getting into trouble on a daily basis?"

"Nah, they've calmed down a bit, I've only had to bail them out of jail twice in the last month. It's quite the improvement."

"It's good to hear that they've matured some in the last few years," I laughed, pushing another strand of hair behind my ear.

"And Colin has been dating the same girl for over two months," Logan added.

"Another great accomplishment," I smiled, nodding my head.

"Yes, it is," Logan agreed, placing the coffee in his hands back on the table, and then resting his hands by his side, one just a few inches from my own. Without thinking, I instantly pulled my own back. "It's getting late, are you sure you don't need to go?"

"No, it's fine," I assured him again, "I don't have work tomorrow, and I didn't really have anything planned, anyway."

"Thanks for staying," Logan smiled at me, his eyes warm and welcoming, a complete change from when I had first ran into him a few hours earlier.

"No problem," I smiled back. The silence fell over the room once again, but it was more of a comforting silence now, the kind of feeling you get when you know you are not alone. Sometimes you don't need to speak to get the point across.

"Hey, Rory?" Logan asked, looking over at me, his voice slightly hesitant as he asked the question.

"Yeah?"

"What...what happened to us?" He finally let it out, his head hanging down, not daring to look at my face.

"You know very well what happened to us," I replied, my body tensing up, my hands gripping the cup in my hand just a little bit tighter.

"It didn't have to end that way, it shouldn't have ended that way," Logan sighed, leaning back, his eyes still not making contact with mine.

"You gave me an ultimatum, and I wasn't ready to get married," I reminded him, starting to feel uncomfortable, "It's as simple as that."

"But, it still didn't have to end that way. I shouldn't have made you choose like that," Logan admitted, "I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted," I shrugged, forcing another smile, "That was a long time ago, anyway."

"Yeah it was, Ace," Logan agreed, I could tell the "Ace" had just slipped out out of habit, and I didn't want to make it awkward by saying anything about it, so I didn't, "I'm glad we got a chance to talk, catch up."

"Me too," I admitted, "So, tell me more about this girlfriend of Colin's," I insisted, skillfully changing the subject. It was a talent I had inherited from my mother, the queen of segues. Logan didn't seem to object, he answered my question, which lead to a series of other topics, none of which being our past love life. Part of me was grateful for that, part of me wanted to go back and talk about it some more, but the first part of me decided that would just make things to complicated, and that things were fine just how they were.

Maybe the parts of me were just confused. Or tired. Possibly both. Either way, the conversation continued, ending up with us talking about the latest happenings in Stars Hollow.

"Are you serious?" He asked me in response to my telling him about the latest town celebration Taylor had come up with.

"I'm completely serious. It was an entire festival dedicated to cheese," I explained, "Kirk went all out on his costume."

"Do I dare ask?"

"No," I laughed, "It is an image you would hate me for putting in your head."

"I'm glad you decided to spare me," Logan said as he stood up from the couch.

"Where are you going?" I asked, looking up at him curiously.

"Another refill," He told me, pointing to the empty cup in his hand, "You want me to get you some more, too?"

"Nah, I think I should be heading home soon," I sighed, "It's really getting late now."

"You're right," He agreed, "I shouldn't keep you any longer." Logan walked over and grabbed my jacket for me, holding it out as he helped me put it back on.

"Such a gentleman," I smirked, grabbing my purse and slinging it over my shoulder.

"I try," He winked, walking me over to the door, "Thanks, again."

"Listen, it was no big deal. You got my number right?" I asked, Logan nodded. "Call me anytime you ever need to talk, I'm always here."

"I really appreciate that, Rory," He smiled, "I just might take you up on that."

"You better," I told him. Leaning in, I put my arms around him, giving him a slightly awkward, but very much needed hug.

"So, I'll talk to you later?"

"Yeah," I smiled, giving him one more quick hug goodbye before heading out the door, "I'm looking forward to it."

* * *

It might not be exactly how you all imagined it would end, but hopefully it didn't disappoint you.

**Happy Valentine's Day!!**


End file.
